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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Brutality in BBC drama Blue Lights shocked cast who had not lived through Troubles

Police in riot gear and ambulances with fire on the ground
Police at a loyalist protest against the Northern Ireland protocol in November 2021 in Belfast. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

A portrayal of the brutality entrenched in some Belfast communities in a major new BBC drama has shocked younger actors not old enough to have lived through the Troubles. The violent legacy of sectarian division in the criminal underworld had to be explained by older cast and writers.

Police show Blue Lights is due to come to television screens just before the Good Friday agreement marks its 25th anniversary early next month, and it focuses on the continued threat posed by gangs involved in the drugs trade. Set in the ranks of the Police Service of Northern Ireland today, it follows three recruits learning how to navigate a treacherous urban landscape.

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